


Quiet

by Weisel



Category: No. 6 - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-25
Updated: 2014-06-25
Packaged: 2018-02-06 05:30:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1846093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weisel/pseuds/Weisel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nezumi may be traveling alone, but his thoughts keep bringing him back to someone else. Post series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quiet

The dirt left Nezumi’s footsteps soft and the strong breeze cooled the hot rays touching his skin. The quiet left him in a meditative state. He stopped walking and held his breath. The wind was the only sound that reached his ears.

His moment was interrupted by a small chirp in the folds of his cloak. Cravat peeked out and stared up at him with small, dark eyes.

“You say you’re hungry? Well, whose problem is that?” Nezumi teased the mouse, but glanced around anyway for something the mouse might like.

It was clear why the mouse had aired its discomfort rather than simply found a meal itself. Dried weeds and cacti were the only vegetation around. With careful steps, Nezumi navigated through an area grown thicker with the low-lying plants. Surely something edible was growing amongst the unwelcoming desert weeds.

Everything was either dusty brown or faded green. Then something caught his eye: a deep pink fruit nestled between the spines of a small cactus. A smile crossed his face as his nimble fingers maneuvered around the sharp needles to pick the fruit. He’d remembered seeing someone selling these in a market weeks ago, claiming them to be rare and medicinal. Nezumi hadn’t been fooled, but at least he learned that they were in fact edible.

“Looks like you’ll have dinner after all,” he told the mouse as it climbed down his arm towards the fruit in his gloved hand.

Cravat sniffed at the fruit, but looked up at Nezumi expectantly rather than eating it.

“Let me find some more of these and I’ll peel one for you. Just give me a minute.”

The mouse disappeared into the folds of his clothes and Nezumi continued looking for the small, pink fruits. With a careful eye, he could easily find enough to fill his hands. He settled in an area with sparse vegetation where he imagined nothing would bother him as he worked. Nezumi set his bag on the ground and sat down next to it. Both mice peered out from the cloak as he rubbed away the soft, fine fuzz of spines from the fruit and peeled away the tough skin.

“I expect you two to do that all yourselves next time.”

Cravat chirped in annoyance and began eating the juicy flesh of the fruit.

Nezumi scoffed, “Since when do you give me that kind of sass? Where’d you pick up that?”

_Shion…_

With a shake of his head, Nezumi picked up another fruit and began peeling it for himself, an apparent scowl darkening his expression. The wind had calmed with the midday sun and the only sounds around them were the mice eating and the knife working apart the fruit.

_Why is this quiet so… loud?_

Again, his mind wandered back to Shion. Normally when they had a meal, he’d babble on about useless things as Nezumi cooked. As annoying as it was, there was something about it that he found comforting.

_Comforting? No. I’d say it was annoying… and yet I’m missing that noise_.

He narrowed his eyes slightly at his own thoughts and took a bite of the fruit. The light sweetness and refreshing juiciness contrasted delightfully with the dry heat of the desert around him. A soft hum filled his throat. The taste of fresh fruit had become so foreign to him in the West Block that he was still becoming used to the rich flavors he’d often find in his travels.

Time slowly passed by, the short shadows creeping back into view. The cloth around him was adjusted to better protect his face from the harsh sunshine and the bag was back over his shoulders when he set off towards the mountains he’d been staring after for days.

_Something tells me I need to get to the other side._

He couldn’t place the feeling, but he couldn’t ignore it, either. It was like a firm tug on his soul, the wind whispering as it passed, “Go there.”

His thirst was quenched and his stomach was filled enough to follow that invisible voice. Once more the wind had picked up, pressing at his back.

_What’s pulling me there? What’s waiting for me there? What if it’s something much further than those mountains?_

Another thought emerged, quietly suggesting Shion might be what was pulling him so strongly.

_No, it’s not. Shion is a part of my past. Just like the forest, my family, the things I’ve done, they’re all part of my past and nothing more. Shion is only one of my memories. That’s what he’ll stay._

The wind whistled by his ears.

_It’s just the wind at my back and my footsteps ahead of me._

Dust picked up around his feet.

_But what if I do go back?_

A sigh escaped his lips and floated away in the wind. The empty space left behind in his chest was replaced with a weakness, a longing.

_You’ve made me weak, Shion._

Nezumi stopped and glanced back and the miles left behind. There was only quiet emptiness. He scolded himself for sighing, took a deep breath, and continued walking. Nezumi opened his mouth and his exhale turned into a clear note. With every step, the melody became more sure and clear. He sang until his heart felt whole again.

_I have my own path to follow, Shion. Though I hope one day it will be your voice that fills this lonely quiet._


End file.
